Recently Watched Films 2013

[Dan Warburton]

Victor Sjöström, Terje Vigen, 1917

Watched, unfortunately perhaps, without the Enslaved soundtrack - curious to know how that would work, anyone tried it? - and with sound turned off, trying to understand the truly bizarre English subtitle translations of the Ibsen original (I'm assuming it's the Ibsen original.. but as it's a Swedish film maybe it's a Swedish translation itself.. never mind).

[Wombatz]

But it's rather impressive, no? (efi to Epstein's eai as silents by the sea go)

[Lao Tsu Ben]

Metti, una sera a cena, Giuseppe Patroni Griffi, 1969

Adapted, with the aid of Dario Argento, from a play written by the director himself, the film is, to some extent, ridiculously pretentious (by the way, apparently there is an Italian restaurant in Berlin named after it) : it's about a playwright (played by Jean-Louis Trintignant) who, suspecting a love affair between his wife and his best friend, wants to write a play about it. As it happens, the love triangle turns out to be a love rectangle, and even a pentagon. So skewed logic is what drives this film and what it is about, and that reminded me very much of L'important c'est d'aimer, but with a cold-blooded, cynical streak. Zulawski's film, which is both a ridiculously bombastic film and a masterpiece, has Delerue's music in it, while here there is a glorious score by Ennio Morricone, "quite possibly his best" says the promotional text over at dustygroove, which contributes very much to making the film enticing. It's a shame, as for so many films, that there isn't a decent copy available.

[Dan Warburton]

efi to Epstein's eai as silents by the sea go

Nicely put! Yeah, the contrast between Sjöström and the Bretons as actors is striking. Wish my copy of the Swedish film was as astoundingly clear as the HD version of the Epstein, which is absolutely breathtaking. Was just about to reply to your post on the Werder thread there, but I've just had an idea - next time I watch one of these silent films I'll play one (or several) of Simon's realisations as soundtrack

[jon abbey]

DLd and watched Irma Vep with Yuko, thought it was kind of what I always expected, great style, not a huge amount of substance, overall OK. I wouldn't really compare it to 8 1/2 (or Day for Night, or Beware of a Holy Whore): just because a film is about a film being made doesn't necessarily mean they overlap much. caveat: I'm not especially tolerant of films these days, almost without exception, so maybe I'm being too harsh.

but one thing I'm sure about is that no one should ever cover Bonnie and Clyde, and certainly not Luna. get the rights to the Gainsbourg or use another song.

[Dan Warburton]

I can't say I'm a fan of the original song itself very much, so a cover version didn't bother me. The whole film is about cover versions anyway. Thanks for checking out, Jon. We, meanwhile, were having fun with this



William Wellman, The Public Enemy, 1931

Like Little Caesar (see posts passim), this one's dated a little, not that it matters much. With the exception of Cagney, who's terrific (Pesci and Walken owe serious royalties), the acting's a bit wooden; in the bonus doc Scorsese (whose borrowings from this movie warrant a decent essay in their own right) raves about Jean Harlow, but she strikes me as flabby and curiously distant from the story. Mae Clarke's Kitty is more believable, but all she gets for her pains is that grapefruit shoved in her face (what a great scene). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4R5wZs8cxI Wellman's location footage gives the whole thing a sense of documentary realism - the movie-going public were of course well aware of the real world of Chicago gangsters - and the ending is chilling (killing, rather). But I still prefer White Heat.

[jon abbey]

next up, the original Scarface?

[Dan Warburton]

Heh, maybe - haven't seen that one for a few years (and it's soooo much better than the fucking awful De Palma / Stone version). But that Rivette boxset is mighty tempting too. Just need four straight evenings, two episodes an evening, to do it. Like we did with Alexanderplatz. Have also been stockpiling spaghetti westerns, noirs, and silent films. The nightly debate about what we're going to watch can get quite heated.

[Dan Warburton]

William Wellman, Beggars of Life, 1928

The only version of this I could find was a dark, fuzzy rip with stock schlock classical music soundtrack (odd movements of Beethoven, Schubert and Schumann stuck on - and often repeated - with no regard whatsoever for how they connect with the images), but until some enterprising soul locates the negative and gives it the restoration it so richly deserves, it'll have to do. Worth if of course for Louise Brooks, and Richard Arlen, who gives a sympathetic performance as Jim (but who was particularly odious with Brooks in real life during the shooting, as she recalls in Lulu in Hollywood), but Wallace Beery steals the show as Oklahoma Red, the rough, tough head honcho hobo with a heart. Some awesome stunt work too.



Abel Ferrara, Napoli Napoli Napoli, 2009

Why oh why did Abel think it was necessary to intercut a harrowing documentary based on interviews with inmates at a women's prison with two fictional depictions of everyday Neapolitan violence (one a mob killing and the other a young hooker abused by her father, both nicely shot but badly acted - watch out for Anita Pallenberg's cameo as the chainsmoking mamma)? Especially since that had already been done, and better, a year before in Gomorra. Worth it though for the testimony of the prisoners - and other community figures Ferrara and his crew interview, including local community activists, journalists, and even the mayor of Naples. Surprised they didn't find a local priest to talk to, as the movie, like the city itself, is overloaded with Virgin Marys looking down helplessly on its slide into the abyss.

[Dan Warburton]

Umberto Lenzi, Gatti Rossi in un labirinto di vetro ("Eyeball"), 1975

Never mind about red pussycats, it's more a shipload (or tourbus load) of red herrings. Predictably unpredictable and far-fetched plot - a party of visiting American tourists from Burlington VT is systematically butchered by a red cloak-wearing killer (homage to Argento? or Roeg? or Little Red Riding Hood) who gouges out the victim's left eye, if it's the right colour - not in the least spiced up by softcore lesbian sleaze. Can't decide what's worse, the "acting" or the soundtrack. But, like a funfair haunted house (which, as it turns out, is where one of the murders occurs), it's supposed to be tacky, simple fun. Shame we didn't get to see victim number three actually get eaten by those pigs

[Dan Warburton]

Jacques Rivette, La religieuse, 1966

Even if your French is up to it - I like to think mine isn't that bad, but freely admit to having problems with this - you'd be well advised to find a subtitled version, as the sound design is harsh. And deliberately so: Jean-Claude Eloy's thorny serialism (with some fine zarb playing from Jean-Pierre Drouet) combines with Michel Fano's austere sound design (he went on to work wonders for Robbe-Grillet in L'homme qui ment) to undercut and even contradict the "conventional" storyline to devastating effect. Dialogue is often buried by strident church bells which disappear into silence without warning, or characters speak their lines well back from the camera and the (one?) mic. It's all part of the plan. Denis Diderot's book was as controversial when it appeared in 1760 as Rivette's film (rather surprisingly, perhaps) proved to be a couple of centuries later - evidently, the powers that be that banned it (prompting a furious and memorable supporting broadside from Godard) felt just as threatened. But they were stupid to deny the film-going public two of the greatest performances in 60s cinema, from Anna Karina and Liselotte Pulver. Outstanding.

[Dan Warburton]

Jerzy Skolimowski, The Shout, 1978

I won't comment on the plot until I've read the Robert Graves short story it's based on, though according to what I've read so far the film follows it quite faithfully. But what a film! Alan Bates has never been better (and that's saying something), and John Hurt and Susannah York never disappoint. Hurt plays a composer, and it's fun to watch him diddling around with his tape recorders, mics and an old EMS in his basement (Rupert Hine actually worked on the sound design, along with Messrs Banks and Rutherford from Genesis - but don't let that put you off). Awesome photography and editing - tight as a cat's ass (if you'll pardon the expression) at 86 minutes, and leaves you puzzling and thrilling for at least that long afterwards. Right up there with Don't Look Now. Strongly recommended.

[Wombatz]

Seconded, and yeah don't mention the plot because from that I'd expected "cult" status at best, instead it's a really good film.

Don't Look Now (I take it), otoh, I couldn't even finish last time I tried, much too in my face deep and symbolic for me.

[Dan Warburton]

Don't Look Now (I take it)

Ooops, yes, sorry 'bout that (post above duly edited)

I couldn't even finish last time I tried, much too in my face deep and symbolic for me.

Point taken - haven't seen it for a while, am more inclined to return to Bad Timing and Walkbout before I go back to it again, too. Meanwhile, on a Skolimowski kick! Yay!

[Dan Warburton]

David Cronenberg, A History Of Violence, 2005

Third viewing, improving with age every time. Probably my favourite Cronenberg. Try watching the violent scenes in ultraslowmotion - the montage is stunning, on a par with Straw Dogs (several points in common with the earlier film, in fact).

[Dan Warburton]

Alain Resnais, La guerre est finie, 1966

I can't find a nicer screenshot than the one Ed used, and I haven't read a better review, either http://seul-le-cinema.blogspot.fr/2011/ ... finie.html What a beautiful film this is, with Montand, Thulin and Bujold perfectly cast, and Semprun's script and Vierny's camerwork capturing the tired desperation of the seasoned revolutionary, the melancholy tinged with bitterness that comes from the knowledge that what you're doing is right, but that you're destined to fail. Cf Melville's L'armée des ombres, Debord's In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni.

[Lao Tsu Ben]

Voici le Temps des Assassins, Jean Duvivier, 1956

Couldn't resist to put a screenshot of the funny character who, in the film, goes under the name of Madame Jules. She's making crêpes flambées for those who wonder. There is an amusing anecdote on wikipedia: Duvivier had asked Gabin to play a garage mechanic, which he didn't want to do because he had already played one before. That's how, since the French star loved good food, Duvivier and his scriptwriters came up with the idea of having him play a great chef. That was a clever idea; it's a very good film but the scenes at the restaurant are really stealing the show for me. I could watch an entire film made of those. I must say, it's hard to keep track of all the dishes that are mentioned in passing.

[Dan Warburton]

Tout à fait d'accord! I love this film - and if anyone out there is on Karagarga, go snatch it: it' s still a Featured Freeleech Torrent - and so does Bertrand Tavernier (that figures.. his own movies always feature a scene or two where folks are chowing down), whose enthusiastic championship for Duvivier makes a nice change from Truffaut's snidy putdowns. Damn good thriller too. Meanwhile, I don't know if Truffaut ever wrote about this



John Schlesinger, Billy Liar, 1963

but given his lack of enthusiasm for British Cinema he probably wouldn't have found much to enjoy. As far as I'm concerned, Billy Liar can hold its own against the best of the Nouvelle Vague. Quite apart from the fact that it's hilarious, with splendid performances from all concerned (Tom Courtenay, of course, but also great minor roles for Leonard Rossiter, Rodney Bewes, Helen Fraser, Wilfred Pickles and Julie Christie), it's a real tour de force cinematographically. From the wonderful lateral tracking shots through the housing estates over the opening credits, to that miraculous scene as Billy returns home from the railway station revealing an army of extras marching behind him up the quiet suburban street, it's a delight from start to finish.

[Lao Tsu Ben]

John Schlesinger, Billy Liar, 1963
Quite apart from the fact that it's hilarious

Now I want to watch it.

Tout à fait d'accord! I love this film - and if anyone out there is on Karagarga, go snatch it: it' s still a Featured Freeleech Torrent.

In fact, these featured freeleech torrents are something that I've been wrong to ignore so far. For example:



La Visita, Antonio Pietrangeli, 1964

The text which is quoted on Kg sums up quite eloquently what makes the movie stand out- and especially these few sentences:

This could easily have become a predictable, complacent confrontation between the cultured man from the big city and the unsophisticated country lass. But the film has something else in store — a wonderful reflection on the volatile nature of intimacy, and a touching exploration of the question of maintaining one's romantic integrity in the face of disappointment and the duplicity of emotions.

Think of it as a better version of Before Sunrise, devoid of the complacency that makes that latter film such a painful experience for some. Sandra Milo's subtlety in the role of Pina is outstanding; François Périer, playing the snobbish lout coming from the South, has less to do but still does it very good: it is impossible not to notice his likeness to Francis Blanche, who used to play similar characters.

[Dan Warburton]

Cool! Had been orbiting around that for a while, am now busily snatching. It's daft really, we should get all those FTs - have discovered some excellent films there that I knew nothing about before (as numerous reviews here testify). Billy Liar, en revanche, isn't a Featured Torrent, but I can strongly recommend it anyway.